Tottenham take on Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on this evening. Spurs have been prolific in front of goal as of late and go into the game in great form.
Chelsea meanwhile have been a little and miss, having beaten reigning Champions Manchester City but lost to Leicester and drew with Southampton recently.
The Lillywhites overcame Chelsea 3-1 the last time both the sides met at Wembley, dominating the game from start to finish. However, the Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that there is nothing to separate the two sides ahead of the semifinal.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the tie against Chelsea, the Argentine told Football.London: “We know very well that it’s going to be again 180 minutes, two legs. We’re going to play the first leg against Chelsea and it’s going to be tough. Chelsea is a great team, a team that will be tough to beat. The tie is 50-50.”
When asked if Spurs head into the game as favorites after their convincing victory when the sides met at the end of November, Pochettino added: “No, it was a very competitive game. Chelsea are a great team but of course when you win you are happy, but it’s a game we enjoyed the most.”
“Tomorrow is going to be a completely different game and competition. You have to respect Chelsea because they have great players and a great squad and for me it’s a team that is building to win some trophies of course.”
While Pochettino acknowledged the fact that Spurs have had a great start to the New Year with comfortable victories over both Cardiff and Tranmere, he said he didn’t expect that to have much bearing on the game.
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The 46-year-old, however, made it clear that Spurs will take the field looking to win the game this evening.
He added: “It will be a very exciting game. Hope to have the possibility to win and go to Stamford Bridge in a very good position.”
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